Buddhism in Australia Book

Introduction Saturday, 7 June 1997. Gorrick’s Run, near Wiseman’s Ferry, New South Wales, Australia. B-o-n-g, b-o-n-g. The gong’s deep sound reverberates around the small meditation hall. The timekeeper quietly announces, 'Myth'. The twenty-two women seated around the room do not move. One of the group leaders begins to speak into the silence, explaining that for the next two hours the women are going to enact a section from the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. The group leader reads aloud the relevant section of the myth: the scene in which Persephone leaves her mother, Demeter, and ventures down into the underworld. When the leader concludes, the timekeeper claps a pair of wooden sticks together, the signal for the women to stand and leave the room. The women place their hands in prayer position and perform a small bow. Then they slowly unfold their legs from various meditation postures, stretch their tired muscles, shrug off blankets, neatly pile their black cushions on their black mats, and stand. The timekeeper claps once more, the women again place their hands together and bow in unison. One by one they leave the room, stopping as they go out through the doorway to bow towards the altar at the front of the room. Outside, they put on their shoes and disperse as instructed. The re-enactment takes place down near the creek, where it is dark and cool. The women move slowly and quietly. They have been directed to meditate on the myth and consider its relevance to their lives; to find themselves in the myth. Some continue to walk along the creek, others find a 1 place to sit or lie, or a small waterfall to watch. After an hour the clappers are struck again, signalling the return to the meditation hall and resumption of the periods of seated and walking meditation. The scene depicted here is a curious one. Meditation hall? Myth? Altar? Bowing? One could be forgiven for thinking this is a group of goddess-worshippers or new age therapists. In fact, these women are attending a women’s sesshin, or retreat, organised by the Sydney Zen Centre. But how is it that Japanese Zen Buddhism, with its patriarchal, monastic hierarchy and emphasis on harsh discipline, is now being practised by a group of women in the Australian bush, with a psychotherapeutic slant involving Greek mythology? Since the arrival of Buddhists in Australia over one hundred years ago, sizeable Buddhist communities have formed. In the 1996 Australian Bureau of Statistics Census almost 200,000 Australians classified themselves as Buddhist; however, the number of people with an interest in Buddhism would far exceed this number. The development of Buddhism in Australia is similar to that of many other Western countries such as America, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and New Zealand. The adaptation of Buddhist beliefs and practices to these new cultural environments has resulted in changes ranging from the translation of scriptures to the incorporation of elements of Western psychology and democratic principles. The process by which these adaptations take place is a complicated one. Issues include who can make changes and on what basis, to what extent changes can be made before the efficacy of the religious practice is compromised, and whether the foreignness of the tradition attracts adherents or alienates them. This book examines the models used for studying the adaptation of Buddhism to the West though analysis of the recent development of a Zen Buddhist organisation in Australia, the Diamond Sangha. The Diamond Sangha has adapted to the Australian context in a number of innovative ways; female teachers have been appointed, new methods of teaching have been explored and new ceremonies have been developed. But the Diamond Sangha has maintained many traditions of Japanese Zen Buddhism such as: the relationship between teacher and student; the means of appointing teachers 2 and the formal structure of rituals. Because of this, curious anomalies often occur. For example, meals served at retreats now comprise of breakfast cereals, pasta and salad, yet the utensils issued are still chopsticks and a teaspoon; the traditional utensils for Japanese meals based around rice. Very few studies specifically examine the process involved in Buddhism’s adaptation to the West. Existing research does discuss Buddhism’s adaptation to various Western countries in other contexts, including ethnographies, conversion studies, analyses of Buddhism’s incorporation into mainstream culture, research on the effect of religion on immigrant ethnic identity, and examinations of Buddhism as a new religious movement. While these approaches investigate aspects of adaptation, few studies focus specifically on the process of change in theoretical terms. Scholars in the field of religious change have cited the need for this type of work. Baumann provides one such example: 'The vast field of adapting and making Buddhism indigenous, setting up new topics of interest and concern, creating adapted forms, content and even Western schools, is in need of a comparative and analytical research.'1 The demand for improved models about social change in religions is not specific to Buddhism. For example, King outlines the need for this type of study in her explication of the necessity of sociological studies on modern Hinduism. She argues that developments in modern Hinduism cannot be explained without sociological analysis of the factors involved in the contact between East and West, and suggests that information on the complex relationship between tradition and the continuing process of change is required. While King is advocating this need with regard to Hinduism, she notes that this process can be studied in all religions and cultures. 2In delineating his approach to studying the transplantation of religion, Pye argues the need for studies of adaptation: 'It is essential, in my view, to raise such questions in the study of religions, since transplantation is an everpresent aspect of that which is under study.'3 In addition to a general lack of studies, there are other issues to consider. Studies that focus on convert or ethnic Buddhist groups usually use different approaches; convert Buddhists groups are sometimes examined as New Religious Movements, ethnic Buddhist groups within the context exist of the relationship 3 between religion and ethnic identity. However, the distinctions between convert and ethnic Buddhist groups can be argued to be breaking down; the slowly emerging second generation of convert Buddhists could now be called ethnic Buddhists, and increasing ethnic intermarriage has caused conversion to so-called ethnic groups. The practice of using different methodologies to examine these two groups has its advantages in some contexts, but can also be argued to be encouraging unnecessary differentiation between the two groups at other levels. The few studies that examine adaptation of Buddhism in the West do not seem to include all of the elements of the process of change that are identified by studies that examine the development of convert Buddhism as New Religious Movements, and ethnic Buddhism within the context of immigration analyse different factors. Consequently, the models of change used for studying both New Religious Movements and immigrant adaptation are also examined here. Another problem is that almost none of the few studies on the adaptation of Buddhism to the West are based on fieldwork. Waterhouse has criticised studies that claim to examine the diversity of British Buddhism by analysing groups only at the level of public discourse. Her fieldwork-based study of six Buddhist groups from different traditions in Bath, Britain, demonstrated that individual practitioners have views different to those of the organisations, 4 indicating a need for research that investigates both personal and group experiences. There is also a need for published information about the Diamond Sangha. The Diamond Sangha is one of the largest Zen lineages in the West and its founding teacher, Robert Aitken, is often cited as a key figure in the history of Western Zen. However, reference to the Diamond Sangha is usually confined to a brief history alongside a list of Aitken's well-known books. There is no work discussing the organisational structure and practices of the Diamond Sangha internationally, and more specifically, no research on the Diamond Sangha’s history and current status in Australia. Studies on Buddhism in Australia are also lacking. Research has tended to focus on history, statistical data, and the relationship between ethnic identity and the migrant experience. There have been no studies of the adaptation process except my own brief examination of general trends in the development of Buddhism in 4 Australia. 5 In his work on American Buddhism, Prebish has cited the need for basic data on Buddhist groups such as funding, key figures, administrative framework, long-range planning, publications, rituals and practices, doctrinal and ethical positions, and also the background of individuals.6 This information is also needed for Australian Buddhism. Baumann has suggested that to understand Buddhism’s development in the West, information is needed on both the growth of specific traditions and lineages, and development in different geographical areas.7 This book aims to add to this field by critically examining models for the adaptation of Buddhism to the West through a comparison of adaptation in Diamond Sangha Zen Buddhist groups in Australia since their formation with literature on Buddhism’s adaptation to other Western countries. This study focuses on the two largest and most well- established of the Diamond Sangha groups in Australia; the Zen Group of Western Australia and the Sydney Zen Centre. Material was gained through interviews with Diamond Sangha group members, participant-observation and analysis of the groups’ literature. Grounded theory provided the method and tools for analysis of this information and the resulting analysis was interpreted within a social constructivist framework.

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